Two Government Tax Calculators Help
Pennsylvanians See the Bottom Line

By Kyle Margules Orland
J-Lab Staff Writer
May 13, 2003

There's a duel going on at the highest levels of Pennsylvania's government, and more than 23,000 people have taken part in it. This face-off isn't taking place in the state Capitol building or the state Supreme Court; rather, it's on the world wide web. The combatants: Dueling tax calculators.

The Pennsylvania Senate Republicans and the Pennsylvania Governor's Office have both launched exercises on their web sites to help state residents figure out how their tax bills will be affected by Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed "Plan for a New Pennsylvania."

The governor's plan, introduced March 25, proposes an increase in the state income tax that will provide more money for education and a reduction in property taxes. The impact of the plan on each family depends on its school district, annual income and home-ownership.

"People like the idea of being able to see for themselves what the impact will be on them," said Dave Hess, director of the Pennsylvania Senate Policy Office. "It gives them a better handle on the issue. It's certainly better than talking about tax rates and homestead exclusions."

While both calculators deliver the same numbers (both are based on data from the governor's office), they differ in how users enter and see the tax consequences.

The Senate Republicans were the first to post their calculator on the web on April 7. Visitors must identify their school district and track down and enter the amount they currently pay in school district property taxes. When they click the "calculate" button, a one-number estimate of their net tax increase or decrease appears in a box at the bottom of the page.

"It's strictly meant to be utilitarian," said Jeff Webber, deputy director of the Senate Policy Development and Research Office who worked on the calculator. "It's just meant to give you an answer. All they've got to do is punch in the numbers."

The governor's calculator, which went up April 11, delivers the same results as the Republicans', but adds some political spin to the results. The calculator asks users to enter their school district and annual income, then describes in detail how their property and income taxes will be affected and how much of their taxes will go towards education and economic stimulus programs.

The governor's exercise was part of a "big marketing push" forthe tax plan said Tom Horley, division manager for the Governor's Office of Administration and project manager for the calculator. "The constituents ... needed to understand how the property tax rebate is gong to work."

Through April 30, more than 21,000 people had used the governor's calculator, Horley said. It took six people about one week to put it together, Horley said, adding that the system's database was crosschecked five times by the Education Department.

The Republicans' calculator took three people roughly four days to complete, according to Webber. Through the end of April, it had about 2,500 visitors according to Hess. Hess said he thinks the calculator is a good way to show people how the governor's proposal will affect them.

Steven Wray, deputy director of the Pennsylvania Economy League, said he thinks both calculators are "good efforts to try to explain a complex proposal to the public, with somewhat different ultimate objectives."

Wray credits the governor's form with "a sleeker layout. It's a little bit easier to use... the numbers you enter are just your annual income, they already have the school district [taxes] in there."

For the future, Hess said the Senate Republican's would definitely be doing more interactive web content. "We're currently looking at a number of options," Hess said.

Horley said the Governor's office was also looking into more ways to use the web to help involve Pennsylvanians in government. "The Rendell administration will be actively using the Internet and web technologies as well as more historic governmental methods to help disseminate information to our constituents," he said.